Couple, son killed at volcanic crater near Naples

Naples, Sep 12 (IANS/AKI) An Italian tourist couple in their forties and their 11-year-old son died on Tuesday when they inhaled poisonous fumes inside a volcanic crater near Naples, while the boy’s seven-year-old brother survived.

The 47-year-old man and his 45-year-old wife got stuck inside the Solfatara crater trying to rescue their older son after the boy climbed over a security fence and plunged three metres into a recent fissure in the rock.

A rescue crew with paramedics called to the scene shortly after midday was unable to save the trio. The crater was closed to the public after the tragedy, which is being investigated by police.

The family, believed to be from northern Italy, were visiting the Solfatara crater, which is located close to the dormant Campi Flegrei supervolcano beneath the Gulf of Naples.